CYCLIST Malcolm Young set the wheels in motion for a fundraising drive to help needy kids yesterday.

Mr Young was invited to ride his penny farthing bike outside the Tesco store in Kingston Park, Newcastle.

The supermarket chain announced it would give a penny to children's charity Barnardo's each time it had a withdrawal at any of its 800 cash machines across the UK, for the next eight weeks.

The project hopes to raise about £150,000 and Barnardo's will be calling on the people of the North-East to make the most of this fundraising opportunity to help the charity's work with vulnerable children in the region.

ATM customers who print a receipt or request a mini statement could also win the opportunity to meet Atomic Kitten, or the opportunity to play a round of golf with Colin Montgomerie.

Barnardo's is the Tesco Charity of the Year 2003. The year-long campaign of staff fundraising is called the Building Blocks Appeal and Barnardo's hopes to raise a total of £2.5m.

Jonathan Ewen, director of children's services for Barnardo's in the North-East, said: "We are delighted to be working with Tesco on this scheme. It's such a simple but really effective way of fundraising. The money we hope to raise from this cash machine promotion and the Tesco Charity of the Year relationship as a whole, will provide an enormous boost to our work in 40 projects in the North-East which annually help more than 11,000 vulnerable children and their families."